In Michigan, HB 4061, a bill to allow homebrew to be served at breweries pubs and bars for club meetings & competitions, passed the House June 23. Next it goes to the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee for a hearing. Michigan residents, please contact the committee members and urge them to pass the bill.

In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Brewer's Guild is asking residents for immediate help in sending a message to Governor Walker asking him to veto budget language related to microbreweries.

The language in question, known as Motion 414, would take away small brewers' abilities to distribute each other's beers and own and operate their own taverns. Such drastic alterations to a proven, successful business model will stifle growth and result in job losses.

Michigan bill HB 4061 to allow homebrew to be served at breweries pubs and bars for club meetings & competitions passed the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee Wednesday July 13 by a 7-0 vote. The bill now moves on to the full Senate for a vote in September.

We will send a follow up Action Alert to Michigan AHA members when we get closer to the Senate vote.

Lawmakers have a new bill that would exempt most craft brewers from the beer distribution changes made in the 2011-13 state budget.

The bill is authored by Representative Janis Ringhand (D-Evansville) who feels the new regulations hurt competition, limit trade and discourage investment.

This proposal would exempt craft brewers that manufacture less than 300,000 barrels per year from the new law.

There was no public input on the subject before it became law. Ringhand hopes to have a public hearing this time around. She says it’s important to support the entrepreneurs and small business owners that help to grow the economy.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers had asked Governor Scott Walker to veto a portion of the budget pertaining to micro-breweries that was added by the Joint Committee on Finance, but he opted against that request.

Michigan Homebrewers: HB 4061 to allow homebrew to be served in breweries, restaurants and bars for club meetings, competitions, etc will go to a vote in the Senate soon. Contact your Senator's office and ask them to support the bill! If the bill passes the Senate, it then goes to the Governor to sign into law (or veto). See the action alert at http://bit.ly/nYAfvo.

The American Homebrewers Association is supporting an effort by the Wisconsin Homebrewers Alliance to rectify the current Wisconsin homebrew law which does not allow for homebrew to be serve outside the home where it was brewed--a law that was uncovered by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue just last year. That means no homebrew at homebrew club meetings, no homebrew competitions, no homebrew at the neighbor's house.

LRB 3101 sponsored by State Senator Michael Ellis and Representative Dean Kaufert would, if passed, lift current restrictions that prohibit homebrew from being transported outside of the home where it was made.

What needs to happen to get this bill passed is for Wisconsin residents to contact their legislators and urge them to come on as sponsors of the bill and support the bill when it comes up for a vote. Time is of the essence to get this bill through the legislature.

The Wisconsin homebrew bill that the AHA has been working on with the Wisconsin Homebrewers Alliance to lift current restrictions that prohibit homebrew from being transported outside of the home where it was made has been assigned to the Senate Energy, Biotechnology, and Consumer Protection Committee and will likely get a hearing soon.

Senate Bill 395 is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Energy, Biotechnology, and Consumer Protection Committee Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 330 Southwest in the Capitol.

We're asking Wisconsin residents to contact the senators on the committee and politely urge them to pass SB 395. A large audience of homebrewers at the meeting will send a strong message that this is important legislation, so please consider attending the hearing if possible.

Senate Bill 395, the Wisconsin homebrew bill that the AHA has been working on with the Wisconsin Homebrewers Alliance to lift current restrictions that prohibit homebrew from being transported outside of the home where it was made was passed unanimously by Senate committee and so moves on to a vote before the full Senate, probably next week.

An identical bill, Assembly Bill 521, was scheduled for a committee hearing this morning and will likely be passed on to the full Assembly shortly.

Wisconsin residents should contact the state Senator and Representative for their district and politely urge them to support these bills.